Sonstiges » confederations but sees additional Eur

Expectations were high for the 2015-16 rookie class after the NFL Draft in Chicago last April with a number of high impact players expected to make their way into the professional ranks. As always with college players stepping up to the NFL, the results proved to be a mixed bag. There were some big winners and some high-profile drafting mistakes.Here we offer our opinion on the best five picks and the five who might want to work a little harder ahead of their second season in the league. Live free agency updates All the latest news of the comings and goings Top fiveTodd Gurley (St Louis - RB) - pick 10 (229 carries, 1,106 yards, 10 TDs. 21 catches, 188 yards) Todd Gurley scores a 71-yard touchdown run against the San Francisco 49ers Gurley was one of the 2015 NFL Drafts biggest risk-reward picks, thanks to a serious knee injury he suffered playing for Georgia in the college ranks, and the bravery of the Rams picking him so early looks like paying off in spades.He missed the first three games of last season as he continued his fitness crusade, and had only nine yards on six carries in his NFL debut, but his career would take off in the next four games as he piled up 566 yards and three touchdowns.Some defences caught up with him later in the season, but a rookie campaign of 1,106 rushing yards and 10 scores bodes well for Gurleys future, should he avoid injury. Hes a candidate to top the league in rushing next season when the Rams restart life in Los Angeles, but only if they can find some other offence to take the focus away from him.Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay - QB) - pick 1 (312 pass completions, 4,042 yards, 22 TDs, 15 INT. 54 carries, 213 yards, 6 TDs) Jameis Winston throws his first NFL touchdown With the first pick of the NFL Draft comes great responsibility - and the Florida State product certainly managed that in his first season, thankfully making his headlines on the pitch rather than off it.Winston and Marcus Mariota, the second pick in 2015, had fairly similar seasons but the Buccaneers quarterback was more durable and just about edged the Tennessee Titans QB in terms of results as he posted franchise records for a rookie quarterback in passing yards and touchdowns.The 22-year-old looks to have an exciting future ahead of him but he could do with an extra weapon out wide, and perhaps wants to cut down on the more avoidable mistakes if he is to improve on the 6-10 record from his rookie season.Marcus Peters (Kansas City - CB) - pick 18 (60 total tackles, 8 INTs, 26 passes defended) Marcus Peters celebrates after defending against a pas The defensive rookie of the year proved a superb first-round pick for the Chiefs, slotting into their defence from day one and ending the season tied with Cincinnatis Reggie Nelson for the league lead on eight interceptions.His career started in sensational fashion when he picked off Houstons Brian Hoyer on his first career snap, and he also counted the likes of Peyton Manning (twice) and Derek Carr among his interception victims.Peters was highly-rated coming out of the University of Washington, but the Chiefs might not have expected such an early impact and it might not be long before he is being talked about in the class of Josh Norman and Darrelle Revis.Tyler Lockett (Seattle - WR) - pick 69 (51 receptions, 664 yards, 6 TDs. 33 kick returns, 852 yards, 1 TD) Watch Russell Wilson hit rookie Tyler Lockett for this 43-yard touchdown Speed, speed and more speed was what the Seahawks expected when they drafted Lockett in the third round last year - they certainly got that, but you have to wonder whether they thought he would turn into the receiver he became as the season wore on.Lockett proved to be a spark plug from week one, most of his early damage coming on kick and punt returns with his first return touchdown coming straight away against the St Louis Rams.The receiving game took a little longer to develop, but by the end of 2015 he and Doug Baldwin had emerged as a dangerous wideout pairing, and Russell Wilson looked in their direction often. While Baldwin took many of the plaudits, scoring 10 touchdowns in four games in one spell, Lockett might be the receiver to follow in Seattle for many years to come.Thomas Rawls (Seattle - RB) - undrafted (144 carries, 830 yards, 4 TDs) Highlights ofThomas Rawls performance against Cincinnati Bengals Who? That was the question on many lips when Rawls made his breakthrough in week three of the regular season, coming in for an injured Marshawn Lynch and rushing for 104 yards on 16 carries.The powerful running-back was an inconsistent player at best in college, used as a short-yardage back in Michigan before transferring to Central Michigan and spending a lot of time on the sidelines with injury.No-one took a risk on him late in the NFL draft and he landed with the Seahawks - and how thankful they are now that Lynch has announced his retirement. Although Rawls, who runs like a bowling ball, ended the year on injured reserve he did more than enough in his seven starts to suggest a decent career is likely.I was going to put running-back David Johnson in here, who broke a number of Arizona Cardinals rookie records during his first season in the league, but there is just something about an underdog story that gets me.Flop fiveMelvin Gordon (San Diego - RB) - pick 15 (184 carries, 641 yards, 0 TDs. 33 receptions, 192 yards, 0 TDs) Melvin Gordon surges with the ball Many expected Gordon to be taken before Gurley in last years draft, as more of a sensible pick than one who might excite a franchise. As it turned out, sensible was…well…hugely disappointing as well.Gordon played okay - thats about as good as descriptions get - in the first three games but then performed a disappearing act, ending the season on injured reserve with not a single touchdown in 14 appearances.What next for the Wisconsin running-back? The Chargers might have to look at the position again in the draft this coming April, and a high-profile selection could mean curtains for Gordon already. Of course there is a chance we are giving up on him too soon, but early evidence is not positive.Nelson Agholor (Philadelphia - WR) - pick 20 (23 receptions, 283 yards, 1 TD) Nelson Agholor reacts after dropping a catch in the endzone Agholor was a consensus first-round pick in last years but might have landed in the wrong spot, or at least with the wrong quarterback on an Eagles team that struggled badly and will start next season with a new coach, and possibly not Sam Bradford under centre.He is undoubtedly talented, but there are concerns Agholor could not force his way into a more regular role in Chip Kellys offence, ending the year with a paltry 23 catches and scoring only once - his top yardage game was only 64 in week four.The main problem? Slippery gloves. Dropped catches plagued him in training camp, in pre-season and that stretched into the regular season as well, leaving him seventh on the team in receiving - simply not enough of an impact for a first round pick.Phillip Dorsett (Indianapolis - WR) - pick 29 (18 receptions, 225 yards, 1 TD) Tennessee Titans bring down Phillip Dorsett Dorsett was described as a wild card pick when selected by the Colts last year and based on the evidence of his rookie season he could retain the work in progress description for at least another season, although much will depend on off-season business.He missed a handful of games in the middle of the season, but his final line of only 18 receptions has to go down as a disappointing return for a player that was meant to be a big threat because of his speed.Dorsett will likely become a third receiver next year, in the expected absence of veteran Andre Johnson, but he needs to work on his chemistry with Andrew Luck and be more consistent running routes. If the Colts yet again target a wide receiver in the draft (it would seem unlikely) he could find himself on the outside looking in, very early in his career.Danny Shelton (Cleveland - DT) - pick 9 (19 solo tackles, 17 assists, 0 sacks, 4 tackles for loss) Danny Shelton of the Cleveland Browns makes a tackle ESPN recently announced their best draft pick per team, and Shelton won the honours with Cleveland - that might just tell you something about the Browns and the way they build for the future.Shelton is a huge run-stuffer, who was a tackle machine when playing for the University of Washington. Sadly none of that translated to the professional ranks and he spent plenty of time running around getting his hands on absolutely nobody.Zero sacks, zero impact. And as for the ESPN rankings, you have to wonder what running-back Duke Johnson, who at least showed signs of ability in his first season, thinks about their Shelton pick.Dante Fowler Jr (Jacksonville - LB) - pick 3 (no stats) #3 pick Fowler dressed to impress at last years draft There is always one bad-luck injury story coming out of the NFL Draft, and this year it was Jacksonvilles turn to taste the misfortune as they lost a potential defence-changing player before he even managed a snap.In fact the only snap he heard was that of his anterior cruciate ligament in the Jaguars rookie minicamp not long after he had his named called out at the draft in Chicago.Jacksonville had hoped to turn Fowler into a defensive lynchpin, and those hopes will remain in place for 2016-17, when you have to at least pray the 21-year-old gets to experience his first NFL game. Without him, they ranked 31st out of 32 in points allowed and 29th in pass yardage. Things cannot get much worse for Fowler or the Jags…they will hope. Also See: Free agency updates Six who stole the show An ode to Beast Mode Super Bowl talking points Wali Jones Jersey . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Michael Adams Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. https://www.cheapwizardsonline.com/809k-kevin-grevey-jersey-wizards.html . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. Terry Dischinger Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Chris Whitney Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. NYON, Switzerland -- The Champions League final could be contested outside Europe for the first time, new UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said Thursday.In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Ceferin said he will revive an open bidding process for the right to host the climax to the European club season and is open to the game being staged in New York.Iit might be an idea in future but we have to speak about it, Ceferin said, highlighting how travel times across Europe can be as long as flights to the United States. To go from Portugal to Azerbaijan for example is almost the same or the same as if you go to New York. For the fans its no problem but we should see. Its a European competition so lets think about it.UEFA could gauge the appetite for taking its major finals beyond Europe by first experimenting with the less-regarded Super Cup, which is played in August between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League.UEFA has until now been awarding the honor of staging its showpiece finals without any tendering process, with stadium hosts decided in secret by the leadership.The bidding process should be very clear because if you get the Champions League finals or Europa League finals as a political favor then its not OK, Ceferin said. With a clear bidding procedure I will protect also the administration and myself because whoever tries to call us, to push us, to ask us for such a favor we will have a clear answer, `Sorry, there are clear rules we cannot do it.In his first major interview since succeeding Michel Platini as UEFA president last month, Ceferin displayed a willingness to innovate while not damaging the organizations lucrative competitions.The Champions League is the best sporting product in the world, Ceferin said at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on the banks of Lake Geneva.And the former Slovenia federation president will not sacrifice the success of the competition by shifting kickoff times to pander to expanding soccer markets in Asia just to sweep up more television viewers or sponsors in the region. Games are always played in the evening in Europe, when much of Asia is asleep.From a financial point of view its not ideal, Ceferin said. We should think also about other markets, but how to do it exactly Im not sure yet. China is financially interesting and the U.S. is not just financially interesting, but football is growing there.Only the final is played on a Saturday, but one option would be to also move the semifinals from their current midweek slot.There are some ideas about that because then China is not asleep because its Saturday and theyy can watch, said Ceferin, whose presidential term runs until 2019.ddddddddddddBut there are many problems concerning that with the calendar of the leagues. National leagues are too important.You have the Premier League which is very strong. Its an idea (semifinals at the weekend) that came out but its too early to say anything concrete on it.While mulling modifications to the Champions League, Ceferin is also involved in talks on whether to expand the World Cup. In his first FIFA Council meeting last week since becoming one of the governing bodys vice presidents, Ceferin heard President Gianni Infantino propose boosting the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams.We didnt want to vote on it as it was too early, Ceferin said. We simply didnt get any information about it. Nothing. Just shall we expand or not. We said we cannot say.Ceferin is awaiting proper analysis on the merits of such a significant overhaul of the tournament. He is already certain Europe should gain a fair share of the additional 16 places rather than expansion being used to correct disparities between how the slots are currently split between the six confederations.Thirteen teams qualify for the World Cup from the 55-nation UEFA region and Ceferin believes that fans in North America and Asia prefer to watch our teams.If you put it to a vote (on the number of additional UEFA places) we might lose but we are the strongest confederation, nobody should forget that -- strongest in quality and all other aspects, Ceferin said. We have the best national teams. So I doubt they will outvote us.Ceferin said UEFA doesnt want to hurt the other confederations but sees additional European teams as adding to the quality of the World Cup.I know everyone is afraid of playing Europe in the playoffs, he said. I can understand them but if you are afraid of playing someone that team is probably better so that team deserves to go (to the World Cup).UEFA has already ceded ground on the 2026 World Cup, with Ceferin approving FIFA blocking Europe from bidding given the 2018 tournament is in Russia. North America is now the favorite to host the event for the first time since the 1994 World Cup in the United States.It would really be hard for me to say it would be good if it goes to North America or Africa, Ceferin said. But given the infrastructure possibilities, probably Africa will have a hard time to place a serious bid.---Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports ' ' '